The golf-loving Scot has been at Gleneagles this week and spoke to the European players ahead of the Ryder Cup which begins against the US team tonight.

World No.1 Rory McIlroy, the leader of the European team and a mad Manchester United fan, said Ferguson had told the players to embrace the favouritism tag bestowed after five wins in the past six tournaments against the Americans.

McIlroy (pictured) said Ferguson's message was along the lines of: "We're slight favourites for a reason. We deserve to be. We've played well this year. It's not something that we should shy away from ... it's something we should embrace."

While the European team is quoted at $1.65 to win the Cup, just six of its 12 players are ranked inside the top 20 in the world, compared to eight in the US team.